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Shuttered Secrets

Shuttered Secrets (A Riley Thomas Mystery Book 2) – Melissa Erin Jackson

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Synopsis

He doesn’t want her to focus on the past.

It’s been six months since Riley Thomas, reluctant medium extraordinaire, has had a ghost haunting her apartment, and she prefers it that way. Life is less complicated when the dead aren’t trying to get her attention. Her best friend is getting married and wants to DIY her way through wedding prep—Riley’s got no time for ghosts.

One of Jade’s wedding must-haves is vintage film cameras her guests can use to help document the big day. The months-long hunt for relics leads to a thrift shop jackpot, and Riley adds the cameras to the growing pile of wedding supplies in her apartment. That night, Riley gets a midnight wake-up call from a ghostly Black woman in a yellow dress.

Even after the haunted cameras are removed from the apartment, the ghost woman keeps popping up, both in Riley’s dreams and in the corner of her eye. Tracking down the previous owner of the cameras proves difficult, and as Riley digs deeper, she uncovers a link between the cameras and two murdered women—one white, one Black, yet neither one is Riley’s mystery woman.

Though the identity of the ghost proves to be as elusive as her predator, Riley is determined to uncover the truth of what happened to these women. But now someone knows she’s looking… and he’s hell-bent on making sure he finds her first.

Review

Warning: This is the story of a serial killer who raped his victims before killing them. It is not graphic in that sense, but constantly mentioned.

6 months have passed since the visit to the Jordanville Ranch. Riley and Michael are happy with their relationship, while Jade is about to get married to her boyfriend. Clearly Riley is her bridesmaid. The problem is that Jade is determined to do everything with her own hands for her wedding (for real, like, she even wanted to cook ?), so she has been dragging Riley all over town.

The problem with Jade was that she was obsessed with ghosts. The whole reason the spirits of serial killer Orin Jacobs and little Pete Vonick had entered Riley’s life in the first place had been because Jade forced Riley to attend a ghost hunting investigation weekend at Orin’s former home. And now another ghost was in her life, thanks to Jade.
Maybe she needed a new best friend.
A voice in the back of her head told her she couldn’t blame the Poltergeist of Aisle 3 on Jade. Or the weeping woman from miniature golf. She told the voice to shut up.

Riley’s abilities can’t be turned off, so even going to the supermarket became a problem when she encounters a raging ghost in an aisle. What to say when, after buying some old cameras for Jade’s marriage, a ghost appears in her own room… again.

Which meant two things. First, at least one of those cameras that sat in a box in her living room was haunted.
Dammit.
And second? She had to call Nina.
Double dammit.

The cameras were connected to the death of the young woman in the yellow dress who appeared to Riley. And when her dreams make her suspect that she is not the only victim, Riley has no choice but to reconnect with Nina, the medium she met at the ranch, and go back into solving these cases. .

Since Melissa said that this guy was even more psycho than the ones in the previous book, I was very scared, however this book was less terrible for me in that sense, since we are not inside his head like we were in Orin’s, which it was what really traumatized me.

However, it is just as terrible as the previous one in terms of the history.

Really my favorite part of these books is how they manage to mix the paranormal, with mystery and police investigation, with horrors, but also with things as mundane as a marriage or the development that Riley and Michael’s relationship is having, even showing us a food contest with his family. This not only helps to relax the tension of the book quite a bit, but it helps to connect more and more with Riley.

“Ooh,” Michael said from across the table. “If we’re going somewhere tropical, sister dear, your ass will be going swimming with dolphins.”
Donna shuddered violently beside Riley.
“She was bitten by a dolphin at SeaWorld when she was a kid,” Carla told Riley.
“Demon fish,” Donna whispered softly to herself.
Riley suppressed a laugh.

Melissa does an incredible job of also showing how some cases receive more attention than others, which in fact was what prevented these murders from being discovered in the beginning, since being of “different levels” it was impossible for them to be connected.

This is a thriller and ghost story book, but it’s not really scary in that regard. The terrible thing is the serial killers and especially knowing that this part is not fiction. If you like mega dense mysteries without romance, this is not your book, it is a thriller a little “lighter” for saying, much more focused on the emotional. Again a round story for me. I hope Riley goes on her unelected detective path. What worries me is Melissa’s search history which must be full of phrases like “how to hide a body” ?.

The men chuckled.
“Ah, so psychics have a dark sense of humor, too?” McGregor asked.
“It’s that or I curl up in a fetal position and never get up again.”
Howard grinned at her. “Same.”

It makes me think of Robert Welsh’s Monday ghost stories videos, which I take the opportunity to recommend because they are great. I would always see them, but every time I do I can’t sleep at night, so you can see my level of bravery ??.

Bye bye ?

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The Forgotten Child

The Forgotten Child (A Riley Thomas Mystery Book 1) – Melissa Erin Jackson

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Synopsis

The dead can speak. They need her to listen.

Ever since Riley Thomas, reluctant medium extraordinaire, accidentally released a malevolent spirit from a Ouija board when she was thirteen, she’s taken a hard pass on scary movies, haunted houses, and cemeteries. Twelve years later, when her best friend pressures her into spending a paranormal investigation weekend at the infamous Jordanville Ranch—former home of deceased serial killer Orin Jacobs—Riley’s still not ready to accept the fact that she can communicate with ghosts.

Shortly after their arrival at the ranch, the spirit of a little boy contacts Riley; a child who went missing—and was never found—in 1973.

In order to put the young boy’s spirit to rest, she has to come to grips with her ability. But how can she solve a mystery that happened a decade before she was born? Especially when someone who knows Orin’s secrets wants to keep the truth buried—no matter the cost.

Review

*Warning: The backstory is really dense. There are murders, rapes and it is quite descriptive in general. There are also some sex scenes but, if you can tolerate everything else, these should be nothing.*

Riley Thomas is a normal 25-year-old girl whose life has been reduced to watching television and working, after breaking up 6 months ago with the idiot of her ex-boyfriend.

Her best friend Jade has tried several times to perform interventions, but they have not worked. So this time she uses all her best friend resources and commits Riley to a weekend of paranormal investigation at the house where a serial killer lived, made famous after appearing on a paranormal show.

Riley is obsessed with crime stories, so she should be excited about the idea. But it is impossible for her to get excited knowing that the place is said to be haunted.

Riley’s rejection of everything paranormal is far from the common fear of ghosts, as Riley is a “reluctant medium.” She discovered her spiritual ability when she was 10 years old, but it was at 13 that the madness broke out. From that day on, Riley got as far away from the paranormal world as possible and dedicated herself to pretending her ability didn’t exist.

Pretending for the weekend shouldn’t be an impossible mission, but a little ghost named Pete ruins her plans. Now Riley must stop pretending and use everything she has learned from research on television and the internet to find out what happened to Pete.


For me this book deserves 11/5 stars. End of the review.

Yes, so much so.

This book is about a serial murderer, who kidnapped girls to make “contributions to medicine”, eventually one of his “patients” managed to escape, and he was caught and convicted for the murders. However, when Riley arrives at the ranch, she realizes that there are probably still a few loose ends in this case, and that she is the only one who can solve them thanks to the information she gets from beyond.

The story is mostly told from Riley’s perspective, but some chapters are from Orin’s perspective. These are the most scary, because he truly believes he did nothing wrong and even cares about his “patients.” Since he was a child, he was always very interested in how things work, the problem is that he was also interested in knowing how human beings work, and after being rejected from medical schools and even forensics (I don’t know why they didn’t put him in a psychiatric after these interviews ?‍♀️), he found a way to conduct his research on his own. He’s a very well-constructed character, but pretty gruesome for the same reason.

Reading that description, the book doesn’t seem recommendable, but it is. To begin with, I believed every single word in the book. The story is totally realistic (which makes it a lot more terrible), even in the paranormal scenes. Also, the characters. Riley really has no idea how to resolve her new situation and uses the internet a lot to do research. Luckily for her, she has the support of Jade, whose relationship really seems like sisters. And also of Michael, an excessively handsome 30-year-old man she meets on the weekend at the ranch. Honestly, it’s worth making that dreadful visit to the ranch to meet someone like Michael ?. A “reformed idiot” in his own words, who is in charge of keeping Riley from falling apart, as well as being excessively funny, easing the tension in the worst moments in history. I loved this character, he has a million traumas from the past, but he’s looking to be a better person.

“What are you talking about?” He placed the back of his hand on her forehead. “You’re pale. Are you okay? You look like you’ve just seen a–oh. Oh! Shit. You saw a ghost.”

The synopsis of this book caught me immediately, but as after my experience with paranormal programs (they fascinate me but I stopped watching them because I couldn’t sleep afterwards ?) I understood that I am a chicken, I read some reviews to make sure it did not give too much fear. The truth is it was useless because, although the book is not scary in itself, I still had nightmares ?‍♀️.

You could say that it is divided into 3 parts. The beginning and the visit to the ranch, the investigation and then the outcome.

In the beginning, when they arrive at the Jordanville Ranch is the moment that the most chills made me feel. But, once they return home, the investigation is conducted by Riley, as she begins a relationship with Michael. For me it was perfect, because after the nerves of the first chapters and given that the things that Riley discovers are each more frightening than the last, I do not know if I could have handle reading the book it had been otherwise. The relaxed moments on their dates, or Michael’s jokes that always break the tension, made me enjoy this book despite its dark background.

The ending is simply spectacular. The book begins by putting your nerves on edge, then allows you to relax a little and then moves at a dizzying pace toward the outcome. I haven’t read many thrillers, but it’s in the end where most stories fail and this one didn’t.

Another very interesting thing in this book is how harassment reports are handled. At one point in the book, Riley is harassed by a psychopath. I can’t tell you anything else to avoid spoilers, but the important thing is that he doesn’t do anything that would allow to have evidence against him. Riley says it and even a detective mentions it: These types of cases only get followed up once it is too late. Unfortunately this appears to be the case in fiction as well as in reality, and in all countries. I am glad that this is becoming more and more visible and I hope with all my heart that things change.

I talked too much but this book really surprised me. It’s the first time in a long time that I really couldn’t stop reading. It gave me the chills, I laughed out loud and cried too.

I don’t know what else I can tell you so that you run to read this book (but really, if you are too sensitive don’t read it, despite being excellent it is quite strong).

PD: This is Melissa’s debut book. I honestly couldn’t believe it. I could have sworn it was the book of a super experienced writer.

https://elclubdelasmujeresinvisibles.com/no-estamos-todas/

Bye bye ?

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The Clockmaker’s Daughter – Kate Morton

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Synopsis

My real name, no one remembers. The truth about that summer, no one else knows.

In the summer of 1862, a group of young artists led by the passionate and talented Edward Radcliffe descends upon Birchwood Manor on the banks of the Upper Thames. Their plan: to spend a secluded summer month in a haze of inspiration and creativity. But by the time their stay is over, one woman has been shot dead while another has disappeared; a priceless heirloom is missing; and Edward Radcliffe’s life is in ruins.

Over one hundred and fifty years later, Elodie Winslow, a young archivist in London, uncovers a leather satchel containing two seemingly unrelated items: a sepia photograph of an arresting-looking woman in Victorian clothing, and an artist’s sketchbook containing the drawing of a twin-gabled house on the bend of a river.

Why does Birchwood Manor feel so familiar to Elodie? And who is the beautiful woman in the photograph? Will she ever give up her secrets?

Review

Usually I need a book to have fantasy to want to read it. I love to think of books as a way out of reality to live in a totally different world for a moment. And, don’t get me wrong, it’s not that reality is so bad, it’s just fun to be able to live in more than one reality. But I got off the subject.

I found this book in a library and, for some reason, it caught my attention. When I read the synopsis I was already determined to read it. Who doesn’t love a good mystery?

At the beginning I found it very interesting, because the story begins in the present and seems to have no relation to the past, I thought we would simply participate in a current investigation into an ancient event, but I was wrong.

There is more than one person who tells us his story through the book, all with only a small relationship between them. I read in another review that someone made a small scheme not to get lost about the history and time of each one. This is not really necessary, but if you have bad memory it can be quite useful.

About the characters, there are a lot relevant for the story but for avoiding spoilers I will focus on a few.

First we meet Elodie, who is, in some way, the protagonist of this story. Personally I do not like her personality at all, I found her a very uninteresting person, however, the character is very well done, it is possible to understand her way of being.

Elodie works as an archivist. One day a long-forgotten box was found at work that she voluntarily offered to classify. In this she found a bag with a notebook and a photograph, all without apparent relationship. After seeing the photograph of a woman and the sketch of a house that she identified as the one of her favorite story when she was a child, she felt the need to discover who that woman was and what relationship she had with the house.

While Elodie does not know, it is not really a spoiler for the reader to know that the woman in the photo is Birdie, who is another character that tells us her own story.

Birdie’s character is lovely. She’s really beautiful and, not common in her time, incredibly intelligent. Every person she met, one way or another, describes her ways that it’s impossible not to like her, and when she tells the story herself, it’s really easy to be on her side.

Birdie is the real protagonist of this story. Daughter of a clockmaker, she had a rather difficult childhood and, for reasons of destiny, she became a model of Edward Radcliffe, a young man aimed at becoming one of the best painters of his time.

Edward is clearle another one of the important characters in this story. An artist whose personality leaves no doubt of this. At the beginning of a work he was unable to think of anything else, and when he received an inspiration he was so distracted that it was very common for him to return without his wallet.

Unfortunately, Edward’s promising future was suddenly ruined one summer. He had decided to make a retreat with his artist friends at Birchwood Manor for inspiration, but instead his fiancé, Fanny, died and Edward was totally destroyed. What really happened that day is something that only Birdie knows.

But what does Birdie have to do with this? Well, you will need to read the book to know.

My favorite character is Birdie, she’s the biggest reason I loved this book. But there’s one more “character” that caught me from the story: Birchwood Manor.

The house that connect each of the lives that we know in this story through the ages. Kate does an impressive job giving dimension to each of the characters, but she really nailed it with the atmosphere she creates in the house. It is possible to “see” each of its interior spaces and also its exterior next to the river. It makes her a character in the story.

Birchwood Manor’s drawing by Michael Scroll
https://michaelsscroll.blogspot.com/2019/03/birchwood-manor.html

In short, I really liked this book and also Kate Morton’s writing style. I will probably read “The Forgotten Garden” in the future, but, for now, I highly recommend that you give this book a chance as it has a very solid and realistic plot, complete characters and that transports us in each of its pages.

Bye bye 💕

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